RECORD 


OF 


HIESTER  CLYMER; 


AND 

•f 


HISTORICAL  PAEALLEL 


BETWEEN  HIM  AND 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JOHN  W.  GEARY. 

•0-   /'   -     II 


ALSO, 


OFFICIAL  RETURNS  OF  ELECTION 


CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENTS  ALLOWING  SOLDIERS 
THE  RIGHT  TO  VOTE, 


1866. 


b   \  $5**? 

Ubnury 


RECORD 

OP 

HIESTER    CLYMER; 

AND 

HISTORICAL  PARALLEL 

BETWEEN  HIM  AND 

MAJOR-GENERAL  JOHN  W.  GEARY. 


OFFICIAL  RETURNS  OF  ELECTION  ON  CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENTS 
ALLOWING  SOLDIERS  THE  RIGHT  TO  VOTE. 


THE  people  of  Pennsylvania  will  soon  be  called  upon  to  select  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  State  for  the  next  three  years.  Their  choice  is  confined 
to  two  names,  by  the  action  of  the  several  Conventions.  The  National 
Union  party  represented  at  Harrisburg,  and  the  soldiers  and  sailors  in  con- 
vention at  Pittsbnrg,  have  placed  in  nomination  Major-Genl.  John  W. 
Geary.  He  is  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  and  as  a  soldier  has  followed  the 
flag  of  the  State  and  the  Nation  in  two  wars,  has  risen  with  distinction 
through  every  grade  of  the  army,  has  participated  in  sixty  battles,  and  been 
wounded  four  times  in  the  field.  As  a  civilian  he  has  filled,  with  the  greatest 
success  and  distinction,  important  public  positions  requiring  courage  and 
discretion,  administrative  ability,  and  the  highest  order  of  integrity. 

The  Democratic  Convention  has  presented  the  name  of  the  Hon.  Hiester 
Clymer,  of  Berks  Co. — likewise  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth.  It  is  proposed 
briefly  to  examine  his  claims  to  so  honorable  and  responsible  a  post  as 
Governor  of  the  Commonwealth. 

As  Mr.  Clymer  has  never  served  in  a  military  capacity,  not  even  when 
the  soil  of  his  native  State  was  invaded,  and  her  towns  devastated  by  hostile 
armies ;  and,  as  he  has  held  but  a  single  office,  that  of  State  Senator  for  a 
few  years,  the  record  of  his  public  services  is  necessarily  a  short  one. 
Indeed,  it  consists  entirely  of  his  speeches  and  votes,  during  his  senatorial 
career  of  six  years.  But,  as  that  career  covers  a  period  when  the  country 
was  torn  by  a  distracting  and  bloody  civil  war,  and  when  the  State  of 

Q.  7 

~  r 


Pennsylvania  was  contributing  her  blood  and  treasure  without  stint,  in  sup- 
port of  the  National  cause,  and  for  her  own  defence,  it  becomes  a  pertinent 
inquiry  on  which  side  Mr.  Clymer  was  to  be  found ;  and  whether  he  cast 
his  talents,  his  influence,  and  his  means  on  the  side  of  the  Government  or  of 
its  enemies.  Fortunately  this  record  is  before  us  in  an  authentic  and  un- 
questionable shape;  and  it  shows  that  he  is  now  the  fit  representative  of  his 
party,  as  he  was  its  leader  in  the  Senate  during  the  rebellion,  being  foremost 
in  denunciation  of  the  Government,  and  strenuous  in  his  opposition  to  every 
measure  calculated  to  suppress  rebellion.  In  1861  he  opposed  and  voted 
against  arming  the  State  after  Sumter  had  been  attacked.  No  one  was 
more  bitter  in  denunciation  of,  and  refusal  to  hear  loyal  democrats  at  the 
Capitol  in  defence  of  the  Union.  He  voted  against  an  increase  of  pay  to 
the  soldiers  who  were  perilling  their  lives  on  the  battle-field ;  he  refused  to 
give  them  the  right  of  voting  while  in  the  service  of  their  country ;  he  re- 
fused to  support  the  bill  disfranchising  deserters  ;  and  was  loud  and  unblush- 
ing in  expressions  of  admiration  and  sympathy  for  Yallandigham  and  other 
traitors. 

In  nominating  him  his  party  has  been  eminently  consistent  with  its  whole 
course  during  the  rebellion ;  no  member  of  it  was  more  steadily  and  per- 
sistently antagonistic  to  the  great  Union  party,  and  the  cause  of  the  country 
during  the  whole  of  that  period. 

We  now  furnish  the  proof  of  these  assertions. 

Against  Arming  the  State  in  1861. 

On  the  12th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1861,  the  Senate  proceeded  to  the  con- 
sideration of  a  bill  for  the  arming  of  the  State.  This  was  the  same  day  in 
which  the  rebel  batteries  opened  their  fire  on  Fort  Sumter.  On  agreeing  to 
the  first  section  of  the  bill  the  yeas  were  36  ;  and  the  nays  as  follows,  viz  : 
Messrs.  Blood,  Clymer,  Crawford,  Mott,  Schindel,  and  Welsh,  6.  And  upon 
every  section  the  vote  stood  the  same ;  and  upon  the  final  passage,  Mr. 
Clymer  continued,  with  the  small  minority  of  6,  to  vote  against  it. 

See  Legislative  Record  for  1861 — pages  843-4-5  and  6. 

And  on  the  16th  day  of  April,  1861,  after  the  news  of  the  attack  upon 
Sumter  had  fired  the  Northern  heart,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  were  rally- 
ing to  the  defence  of  our  insulted  flag,  Mr.  Clymer  united  with  his  five  disloyal 
colleagues  in  entering  upon  the  journal  of  the  Senate  a  solemn  protest  against 
the  bill  for  arming  the  State. 

See  Legislative  Record  1861,  pages  902  and  3. 

It  is  true  these  disloyal  Senators  veiled  their  opposition  to  this  measure 
under  a  pretended  regard  for  constitutional  forms;  but  so  they  did  subse- 
quently in  all  the  efforts  of  the  Government  to  uphold  its  authority  against 
the  rebellion,  and  to  guard  the  national  flag  from  insult  and  dishonor. 


Against  Collection  of  Direct  Tax  in  1862. 

In  the  session  of  1862,  during  the  dark  days  of  the  Republic,  when  reverses 
had  overtaken  her  armies,  and  her  credit  was  strained  to  the  utmost  to  sup- 
ply the  means  of  sustaining  them  in  the  field,  Mr.  Clymer  voted  against  the 
joint-resolutions  of  the  Legislature  to  provide  for  the  collection  of  the  direct 
tax  levied  by  the  United  States. 

See  Legislative  Record,  1862,  pages  154-5. 

This  was  the  only  opportunity  Mr.  Clymer  and  his  Democratic  colleagues 
had,  during  that  session,  to  manifest  their  hostility  to  the  government  and 
their  sympathy  with  treason.  True  to  their  instincts,  they  tried  to  withhold 
the  supplies,  as  before  they  had  attempted  to  withhold  the  men. 

*;, 
Against  Law  Authorizing  Soldiers  to  Vote. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  1863,  the  Senate  proceeded  to  the  consideration  of  a 
bill  "  to  enable  citizens  of  this  commonwealth  engaged  in  the  military  and 
naval  service  of  the  United  States,  or  the  military  service  of  Pennsylvania,  to 
vote."  Mr.  Clymer  voted  against  the  section  ;  and  subsequently  on  the  10th 
of  April,  1863,  on  the  final  passage  of  the  bill,  the  Nays  were  Messrs.  Bircher, 
Clymer,  Donovan,  Glatz,  Kincey,  Lamberton,  McSherry,  Mott,  Reilly, 
Smith,  Stark,  Stein,  and  Wallace.  13  nays,  all  Democrats. 

See  Legislative  Record,  1863,  page  808. 

In  the  session  of  1864,  on  the  9th  of  March,  the  joint-resolutions  pro- 
posing an  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  authorizing  the  soldiers  to  vote 
when  absent  in  the  field,  being  before  the  Senate,  on  their  final  passage  Mr. 
Clymer,  although  present,  dodged ;  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
having  asked  leave  to  record  his  vote,  the  Senate  refused. 

See  Legislative  Record,  1864,  pages  335-41. 

And  when,  later  in  the  session,  a  bill  was  introduced  to  carry  into  effect  a 
Constitutional  amendment  to  that  effect,  upon  its  final  passage  Mr.  Clymer 
not  only  spoke  against  it,  but  with  his  12  Democratic  colleagues  voted 
against  it.  See  Legislative  Record,  1864,  page  509. 

Mr.  Clymer  votes  against  the  Bill  to  Define  and  Punish 
Offences  of  a  Treasonable  Character. 

The  then  existing  legislation  of  Congress  in  regard  to  the  definition  and 
punishment  of  treasonable  offences  having  been  found  entirely  deficient  in 
the  crisis  of  the  rebellion,  in  order  to  encourage  prompt  and  vigorous  action 
by  Congress  the  following  joint-resolution  was  introduced  into  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Pennsylvania : — 


"Be  it  Resolved,  &c.,  That  the  Senators  from  this  State  be  instructed  and 
"  the  members  of  Congress  requested  to  procure  the  immediate  passage  of 
"laws defining  and  punishing  offences  of  a  treasonable  character,  not  amount- 
"  ing  to  high  treason,  and  providing  for  the  fair  and  speedy  trial,  by  an  im- 
"  partial  jury,  of  persons  charged  with  such  offences  in  the  loyal  and  uii- 
"  disturbed  States,  so  that  the  guilty  may  justly  suffer,  and  the  innocent  be 
"relieved." 

During  the  debate  Mr.  Clymer  made  various  captious  objections  to  the 
resolution ;  and  on  its  final  passage  voted  No. 

See  Legislative  Record,  1863,  pages  204-8. 

He  Opposes  Bounties  to  Volunteers. 

So  upon  the  question  of  bounties  to  soldiers,  Mr.  Clymer  manifested  his 
opposition  to  it  as  a  measure  intended  to  strengthen  the  government  in  its 
struggle  with  the  rebellion. 

Doubts  having  arisen  as  to  the  extent  of  the  authority  of  the  county  com- 
missioners to  contract  debts  for  this  purpose,  legislation  was  imperatively 
called  for  to  secure  prompt  and  uniform  action  throughout  the  State. 
This  was  on  the  eve  of  the  great  invasion  of  the  State,  and  but  three  months 
before  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 

A  bill  to  legalize  the  payment  of  these  bounties  having  been  introduced, 
and  perfected  by  a  conference  of  the  committees  of  the  two  houses,  upon  its 
final  passage  Mr.  Clymer  voted  against  it. 

See  Legislative  Record,  1863,  pages  809-11. 

Refuses  to  allow  Andrew  Johnson,  and  other  loyal  Demo- 
crats, to  be  heard  in  the  Capitol  in  defence  of  the  General 
Government. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1863,  the  following  resolution  was  submitted  in  the 
Senate  of  Pennsylvania  : — 

"  Whereas,  Governor  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  a  brave  and  loyal 
"  man,  whose  devotion  to  the  Union  is  fully  attested  by  his  sacrifices  and 
"  efforts  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  and  Ex-Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright,  a 
"  distinguished  and  patriotic  citizen  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  are  about  to 
"visit  Harrisburg,  and  propose  to  address  the  people  on  the  great  question 
"now  agitating  the  public  mind,  and  which  are  of  so  much  moment  to  the 
"stability  of  the  general  government;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  Governor  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  and  Ex-Gover- 
"  nor  Joseph  A.  Wright,  of  Indiana,  be  and  they  are  hereby  tendered  the 
"  use  of  the  hall  of  the  Senate  this  afternoon,  for  the  purpose  of  addressing 
"their  fellow-citizens  of  Pennsylvania." 

Mr.  Clymer,  in  the  discussion  which  followed,  said,  among  other  things, 
"  In  this  particular  case,  I  have  my  distinct  personal  and  general  reasons  for 


"  voting  against  having  Andrew  Johnson  in  these  halls.  They  may  not  be 
"satisfactory  to  others;  they  are,  sir,  to  myself,  and  they  will  be  to  those 
"  whom  I  represent.  Sir,  I  do  not  recognize  Andrew  Johnson  as  the  gover- 
"  nor  of  Tennessee.  I  say  that  he  assumes  the  title  without  warrant  of  the 
"  Constitution,  or  warrant  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  I  say  that 
"his  appointment  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  was  but  a 
"  portion  of  that  general  system  by  which  it  is  attempted  to  consolidate  this 
"  Government,  and  make  it  one  great  machine  to  be  wielded  by  the  power 
"of  one  man.  For  that  reason,  I  am  against  receiving  Andrew  Johnson 
"as  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Tennessee." 

Later  in  the  debate  Mr.  Clymer  said —  ^ 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  on  this  day,  at  this  hour,  and  in  this  place,  a  great  issue  is 
"  on  trial,  fraught  with  the  interests  not  only  of  the  present,  but  of  the  future; 
"  and  if  I,  in  the  decision  of  this  issue,  have  acted  a  part,  however  unimport- 
"ant,  I  shall  hereof ter  look  back  to  this  day,  to  this  hour,  and  this  place,  with 
" feelings  of  no  little  gratification. 

"What  is  the  question  presented?  It  is  a  proposition  to  invite  Andrew 
"  Johnson,  the  so-called  Governor  of  Tennessee,  to  address  the  people  of 
"  Pennsylvania  from  the  Senate  chamber  of  this  State.  I  have  various  rea- 
"  sons  for  opposing  this  proposition.  In  the  first  place,  I  here  boldly  proclaim 
"  that  he  is  not  at  this  hour,  and  never  has  been  by  the  Constitution,  or 
"  under  the  laws,  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  except  when  years 
"  ago  he  was  elected  to  that  office  by  the  people.  I  say,  sir,  that  his  ap- 
"  poiutment  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  that  position  was  a 
"  usurpation  of  power  on  the  part  of  the  President,  and  that  there  is  no  war- 
"rant  under  the  Constitution,  no  authority  in  the  laws,  for  his  appointment; 
"  and  that  every  act  which  he  has  assumed  to  perform,  by  virtue  of  his 
"unconstitutional  and  illegal  appointment,  has  been  in  derogation  of  the 
"  rights  of  a  sovereign  State,  and  in  flat  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
"  United  States.  I  say,  sir,  furthermore,  that  no  such  position  as  Military 
"  Governor  of  a  State  is  known  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ; 
"  that  there  is  nothing  in  that  instrument  which  authorizes  the  President  of 
"  the  United  States  to  appoint  a  Military  Governor  of  any  State;  and  that 
"to  make  such  an  appointment  was  to  create  the  State  of  Tennessee  a 
"military  province;  and  thai,  his  appointment  was  made  to  carry  out  and 
"  subserve  the  purposes  of  the  present  Administration,  which  is  to  reduce 
"all  the  States  of  this  Union  to  the  condition  of  mere  dependencies  of  a 
"  consolidated  oligarchy  or  despotism.  That  is  my  position  so  far  as  con- 
"  cerns  this  pretended  Governor  of  Tennessee.  Andrew  Johnson  has  not 
"  been  for  years,  and  is  not  now  the  Governor  of  that  State,  and  I  will  never 
"  recognize  him  as  such  by  voting  for  this  resolution.  But,  sir,  without  re- 
"  gard  to  any  question  of  his  official  position,  take  Andrew  Johnson  as  an 
"  individual,  assuming  that  he  is  rightfully  clothed  with  the  robes  of  office, 
"  and  may  constitutionally  exercise  the  duties  of  that  high  position,  even 
"  then,  I  say  to  you,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  I  never  by  my  vote  will  allow  a  man 


6 

"  to  come  into  these  halls,  and  from  this  place  speak  to  the  people  of  this 
"  great  State  in  support  of  what  I  know  to  be  illegal,  unconstitutional,  and 
"  tyrannical  acts  of  the  Federal  Government.  /  know,  sir,  that  Andrew 
11  Johnson  has  gone  as  far  as  the  farthest,  and  is  ready  to  go  still  farther,  to 
"  destroy,  to  uproot,  to  upturn  every  principle  upon  which  this  great  and 
"good  Government  of  ours  was  founded.  I  know  that  he  has  bent  with  syp- 
"  pliant  knee  before  the  throne  of  power.  I  know  that  for  pelf,  or  some  other 
"  consideration,  he  has  succumbed  to  every  measure  presented  to  him  for  ap- 
11  pr oval  or  disapproval;  and  I  know  that  in  speeches  delivered  in  the  capitals 
"  of  other  States  he  has  enunciated  doctrines  which,  if  adopted  by  the  people  of 
"  the  great  North,  would  be  subversive  of  individual  freedom  and  personal 
"  right. 

"  Sir,  by  no  vote  of  mine  can  any  person  holding  such  views  address  the 
u  people  of  Pennsylvania  in  this  chamber.  Never,  sir,  never,  so  long  as  I  have 
"  a  right  to  forbid  him  /" 

And  afterwards,  ill  disguising  his  bitterness  and  his  contempt  for  the 
loyal  Governor  of  Tennessee,  he  described  him  "  as  a  mere  hireling  of  federal 
11  patronage  and  power,"  and  voted  againstv  giving  him  a  hearing. 

See  Legislative  Record  of  1863,  pages  316-7. 

A  Friend  of  Vallandigham. 

Mr.  Clymer  declared  that  "  if  Woodward  and  Vallandigham  were  elected 
"  Governors  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  they,  with  Seymour  of  New  York, 
"  and  Parker  of  New  Jersey,  would  unite  in  calling  from  the  army  the  troops 
"  from  their  respective  States,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the  Administration 
"to  invite  a  convention  of  the  States  to  adjust  our  difficulties." 

This  startling  declaration  was  made  on  the  24th  of  August,  1863,  in  a 
public  speech  delivered  before  the  people  of  Somerset,  in  this  State,  and  is 
authenticated  not  only  by  unimpeachable  witnesses,  but  afterwards,  by  a 
feeble  attempt  at  explanation  or  extenuation,  by  Mr.  Clymer  himself. 

The  atrocity  of  such  a  sentiment  from  a  Senator  of  the  State  will  be  best 
understood  when  it  is  recollected  that  this  treasonable  declaration  was  made 
by  him  only  a  few  weeks  after  the  soil  of  the  State  had  been  overrun  and 
devastated  by  the  rebel  hordes  under  Lee  ;  and  while  the  field  of  Gettysburg 
was  still  red  with  the  blood  of  that  terrible  battle,  the  victorious  result  of 
which  alone  saved  the  State  and  its  Capital,  and  prevented  the  terms  of  an 
inglorious  peace  from  being  dictated  to  the  North,  by  a  southern  army,  in 
the  City  of  Philadelphia. 

General  Geary,  although  wounded  at  Chancellorsville,  marched  to  the 
rescue  with  his  division ;  and  with  Crawford  and  Hancock,  Reynolds  and 
Meade — those  gallant  Pennsylvanians — took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
splendid  achievements  of  the  three  eventful  days  of  that  great  battle. 
Hiester  Clymer,  the  State  Senator,  with  no  sympathy  for  his  Government, 
and  no  word  of  encouragement  for  the  soldiers  who  were  fighting  its  battles, 


openly  proclaimed  a  purpose  which,  if  it  had  been  carried  out,  would  have 
been  a  virtual  surrender  to  the  defeated,  but  still  arrogant  South. 
We  proceed  to  give  the  authority  for  this  statement : — 
On  the  3d  of  February,  1864,  Mr.  Clymer  was  charged  on  the  floor  of  the 
Senate  with  having  made  such  a  speech  at  Somerset.  After  a  weak  attempt 
-at  evading  the  charge,  he  proceeded  to  state  what  he  did  say  on  that  occasion. 
And  let  every  candid  reader  say  whether  Mr.  Clymer's  own  version,  consider- 
ing the  time  and  circumstances  under  which  it  was  given,  was  not  worse  in 
spirit  and  utterance  than  the  original  treasonable  declaration  at  Somerset. 
But  to  the  record.  Mr.  Clymer,  in  reply  to  the  charge  referred  to,  made 
the  following  remarks,  viz.  : — 

"Now,  sir,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  desire  to  hear  it,  I  will  state  what 
"  I  did  say  on  the  occasion  referred  to.  It  is  alleged  that  I  made  use  of  the 
"language  in  a  speech  delivered  at  Somerset,  in  the  County  of  Somerset,  in 
"  this  State.  The  only  remark  I  made  then  which  could  be  tortured  into 
"  such  a  malicious  misstatement  as  appeared  in  the  newspapers  was  this,  that 
"  if  Judge  Woodward  was  elected  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Yallandig- 
"  ham  Governor  of  Ohio,  they,  in  conjunction  with  those  two  great  patriots, 
"  Seymour  of  New  York,  and  Parker  of  New  Jersey,  would  compel  this 
"  Government  to  come  back  to  the  resolution  of  July,  1861,  and  prosecute 
"  this  war  for  the  purposes  set  forth  in  that  resolution.  I  say  now,  and 
"  believe  that  it  was  the  greatest  calamity  that  has  yet  befallen  this  country  that 
"  those  two  men  were  not  elected;  for  I  believe  now,  and  ever  shall  believe, 
"that  the  departure  from  the  purposes  and  objects  of  that  resolution  has 
"  deluged  this  land  in  blood,  wasted  our  substance,  and  made  us  a  mournful 
"spectacle  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth." 

See  Legislative  Record,  1864,  page  149. 

We  are  permitted  to  give  the  authority  of  the  editor  of  the  "  Somerset 
Herald  and  Whig,"  and  of  the  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Koontz,  the  member  of  Con- 
gress elect  from  that  district,  and  of  other  gentlemen  who  were  present,  for 
the  strict  accuracy  of  the  language  attributed  to  Mr.  Clymer,  in  his  Somerset 
speech.  His  own  version  is  even  worse ;  for,  not  content  with  saying  that 
Vallandigham  and  his  colleagues  would,  if  successful,  have  compelled  the 
Government  to  pursue  their  policy,  Mr.  Clymer,  in  the  face  of  the  legisla- 
ture, proclaimed  our  country,  then  victorious  at  every  point,  "  a  mournful 
spectacle  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth."  What  Yallandigham  and  Wood- 
ward would  have  done,  if  successful,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  avow.  Every 
one,  familiar  with  the  history  of  1862-3,  knows  if  the  four  great  central 
States  had  passed  under  the  control  of  such  disloyal  governors,  it  was  the 
intention  of  northern  sympathizers  to  compel  the  General  Government  into 
submission  to  their  plans  by  a  recall  of  the  State  troops  from  our  armies  in 
the  field.  The  same  party  whose  leaders,  only  a  short  time  before,  had 
waited  on  Lord  Lyons,  the  British  minister,  and  besought  foreign  interven- 
tion against  their  own  government,  and  whose  presses,  and  orators,  and 


8 

political  conventions  did  not  hesitate  to  recommend  the  recall  of  the  State 
troops,  would  undoubtedly  have  carried  their  purpose  into  effect  if  they  had 
had  the  power ;  and  Mr.  Clymer  not  only  truly  represented  his  own  party 
in  his  Somerset  speech,  but  then  uttered  sentiments  in  which  he  gloried  a 
year  later,  when  he  contemplated  such  aid  and  comfort  to  the  rebellion. 

Properly  and  justly  has  he  been  called  "  The  Vallandigham  of  Pennsyl- 
vania." True,  his  notorious  model  was  tried,  and  convicted,  and  sent 
"beyond  the  Union  lines,"  and  Mr.  Clymer  was  not.  But,  the  latter  is  now 
on  trial  before  the  insulted  citizens  and  soldiers  of  Pennsylvania,  and  as  the 
former,  for  kindred  offences,  was  recently  submerged  under  a  hundred  thou- 
sand majority,  by  the  gallant  patriots  of  Ohio,  so  will  the  loyal  voters  of  the 
old  Keystone  make  haste  to  follow  so  illustrious  an  example. 

Mr.  Clymer  "opposed  to  the  War  as  at  present  conducted, 
and  never  did  approve  of  it  in  itself." 

In  order  to  place  the  sentiments  of  Mr.  Clymer  on  record,  beyond  denial, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  quote  the  resolutions  adopted  at  a  meeting  in  Berks 
County,  which  he  united  in  calling,  and  which  he  addressed.  This  meeting 
was  held  at  the  Court  House  in  Reading,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1863.  It  was 
intended  to  sustain  the  Democracy  of  that  county  in  their  disloyal  attitude 
to  the  Government,  and  in  their  forcible  resistance  to  the  draft,  by  means  of 
secret  organizations.  Among  the  resolutions  adopted  were  the  following, 
viz: — 

"  Resolved,  That  secret  societies,  political  or  otherwise,  are  not  in  them- 
" selves  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws;  and  that  whenever  a 
"free  people  see  proper  to  organize  themselves  in  secret  or  in  public,  they 
"  have  a  right  to  protection,  and  if  the  Government,  for  political  purposes, 
ft fails  to  render  that  protection,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  furnish  it  to  the  extent 
"  of  our  power." 

After  resolving  that  "resistance  by  force  to  an  invasion  of  our  personal 
"freedom  is  a  virtue,"  this  virtuous  party  further  "Resolved,  That  we  do  not 
tl  approve  of  this  war  as  at  present  conducted;  WE  NEVER  DID  APPROVE  OF  IT 
"IN  ITSELF,  but  accepted  it  in  preference  to  disunion,  anarchy,  and  despo- 
tism, under  pledges  that  it  should  be  conducted  solely  with  a  view  to  the 
"restoration  of  the  Union.  These  pledges  have  been  broken;  the  war  is 
"converted  into  an  abolition  crusade,  and  we  are  free  from  any  obligations, 
"except  those  of  obedience  to  law." 

The  all-pervading  spirit  of  these  resolutions  was  a  bitter  hostility  to  the 
"  present  authorities  of  the  United  States  ;"  but  they  contained  not  a  word 
against' the  government  of  Jefferson  Davis.  They  proclaimed  a  purpose  "to 
assert  the  sovereign  right  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,"  which  meant,  if 
they  should  succeed  at  the  approaching  elections  for  Governor  and  Members 
of  the  Legislature,  to  secede  from  the  National  Union,  and  unite  with  the 
fortunes  of  the  Confederacy. 


After  the  reading  of  these  resolutions,  Hiester  Clymer,  then  a  prominent 
candidate  for  nomination  as  Governor,  addressed  the  meeting.  His  speech 
was  especially  violent  and  inflammatory,  surpassing  even  the  resolutions  in 
the  boldness  of  its  opposition  to  and  contempt  for  the  Government. 

This  closes  the  brief  and  inglorious  record  of  Mr.  Clymer.  He  never 
held  but  the  one  public  office ;  and  that  was  during  the  period  of  the  despe- 
rate struggle  of  the  Government  with  the  Slaveholders'  Rebellion.  He  might 
have  upheld  the  Government  and  have  created  a  powerful  influence  in  his 
District  on  the  side  of  loyalty  and  the  Union.  But  the  whole  record  may 
be  searched  in  vain  for  a  syllable  or  vote  of  his  that  would  not  have  been 
applauded  at  Charleston  or  Richmond. 

This  man  is  now  the  candidate  of  the  Democracy  for  the  highest  office  in 
the  gift  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania.  The  organ  of  that  party  says  of 
him  that  "he  now  stands  as  the  representative  man  in  this  commonwealth  of 
the  principles  which  he  has  always  advocated."  "His  opinions  are  before  the 
people,  and  he  is  willing  to  stand  or  fall  by  them." 

This  record  of  him  is  drawn  from  authentic  materials  that  cannot  be 
questioned.  And  in  order  to  enable  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  to  decide 
between  Hiester  Clymer  and  General  John  W.  Geary  we  have  prepared  the 
following  historical  parallel. 


HISTORICAL  PARALLEL. 

JOHN  W.  GEARY,  candidate  of  the  HIESTER  CLYMER  was  born  in  Berks 

National  "Union  party  for  the  Gov-  County,  Pennsylvania,  in   the  year 

ernorship  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born  182T ,  of  respectable  parentage.     His 

December  20,  1819,  in  Westmoreland  grandfather,  George  Clymer,  was  one 

County,  Pennsylvania.  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 

He  entered  Jefferson  College,  at  Independence.     He  had  the  benefit 

Canonsburg,  Pa. ;  but  before  gradii-  of  a  liberal  education,  studied  law, 

ating,   his   father   died,   leaving   his  and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the 

widow  and  her  young  family  entirely  Reading  bar. 

dependent.     Young  .Geary  immedi-  Nothing  was  heard  of  him  in  pub- 

ately  left  college,  opened  a  school,  lie  life  until  the  year  1850,  when  he 

assumed  the  support  of  his  mother,  commenced   his   political   career  by 

and,  by  his  industry,  self-denial,  and  running  for  the  Legislature  on  the 

economy,  not  only  was  enabled  to  Whig  ticket  in  Berks  County.     Of 

provide  for.  her  and  her  family,  but  course  he  was  not  elected.    He,  how- 

finally  discharged  the  debts  which  his  ever,  ran  behind  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Keim, 

father,  who  failed  in  business,  had  the  Whig  candidate   for   Congress, 

unavoidably  left  unsatisfied.  1509  votes. 

1* 


10 


GEARY. 

Geary,  not  finding  the  profession  of 
teaching  to  furnish  sufficient  scope 
For  his  tastes  .and  aspirations,  after  a 
brief  clerkship  in  a  wholesale  store 
at  Pittsburg,  commenced  the  study 
of  civil  engineering. 

He  subsequently  studied  law,  and 
was  admitted  to  practice. 

He  was  employed  as  civil  engineer 
and  superintendent  of  the  Alleghany 
Portage  Railroad  in  1846,  when  the 
war  with  Mexico  occurred. 

Quickly  responding  to  the  call  for 
volunteers,  he  recruited  a  company  in 
a  few  days,  and  organized  it  under 
the  name  of  the  "American  High- 
landers." This  company  was  attached 
to  the  Second  Regiment  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  and  Captain  Geary  was 
at  once  elected  Lieutenant-Colonel. 
He  joined  the  army  of  General  Scott 
at  Yera  Cruz,  and  was  attached  to 
General  Quitman's  command. 

He  distinguished   himself  in   the 
Mexican  campaign  for  personal  gal- 
lantry and  military  skill,  particularly 
in  the  bloody  battles  of 
La  Hoy  a, 
Cerro  Gordo, 
Chapultepec,  and 
Garita-de-Belen. 

Colonel  Roberts  having  died,  Geary 
was  elected  Colonel  of  the  regiment. 
In  consideration  of  his  valuable  ser- 
vices, he  was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  great  Citadel  of  the  Capi- 
tal, and  his  commission  as  colonel 
was  dated  on  that  memorable  spot. 

The  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo 
having  established  peace  with  Mex- 
ico, and  secured  California  to  the 
United  States,  in  January,  1849, 
Pre«ident  Polk,  in  grateful  recogni- 


CLYMER. 

He  remained  a  Whig  until  1856, 
when  he  joined  the  Democratic  ranks. 

In  1860  he  ran  for  the  State  Sen- 
ate, on  the  Democratic  ticket,  to  fill 
a  vacancy;  and  he  has  represented 
his  county  in  that  position  for  the 
last  six  years. 


11 

GEARY.  CLYMER. 

tioa  of  his  gallant  services,  appointed 
Col.  Geary  postmaster  of  San  Fran-  / 

cisco,  with  full  power  to  create  post-  / 

offices,  appoint  postmasters,  establish 
mail  routes,  and  make  contracts  for 
carrying  the  mails  throughout  Cali- 
fornia. 

Having  held  this  office  until  Gen. 
Taylor's  accession  to  the  Presidency, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  by  the 
people  of  San  Francisco  to  the  office 
of  first  Alcalde.  r 

In  addition  to  this,  Brig.-Gen.  Ki-  / 

ley,  then  Governor  of  California,  in 
August,  1849,  appointed  him  Judge 
of  First  Instance  for  the  district  of 
San  Francisco. 

These  were  Mexican  offices.  As 
Alcalde  he  was  Sheriff,  Probate 
Judge,  and  Recorder,  and  daily  held 
a  mayor's  and  alcalde's  court  for 
minor  cases,  as  well  as  general  execu- 
tive matters  of  the  city.  As  Judge 
of  First  Instance  he  held  a  court 
having  both  civil  and  criminal  juris- 
diction throughout  ttte  city;  and  a 
court  of  admiralty,  exercising  au- 
thority in  all  maritime  cases.  Judge 
Geary  performed  all  these  varied  du- 
ties so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
people,  that  at  the  close  of  the  year, 
when  a  new  election  took  place,  he 
received  all  but  four  out  of  the  twelve 
thousand  votes  that  were  polled. 

Under  the  first  city  charter,  in  May,  / 

1850,  Geary  was  elected  first  Mayor  j 

of  San  Francisco  by  a  large  majority. 
A  year  later,  although  urged  to  be  a 
candidate  for  re-election,  he  declined. 
He  consented,  however,  to  serve  as 
president  of  the  commissioners  to 
manage  the  funded  debt  of  the  city, 
and  rendered  important  service. 

When  the  convention  of  delegates 


12 

GEARY.  CLYMER. 

assembled  at  Monterey,  in  1849,  to 
form  a  State  Constitution,  Geary  was 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  Terri- 
torial Committee,  and  it  was  mainly 
through  his  influence  that  the  Free 
State  clause  was  inserted  in  the  newly- 
framed  Constitution. 

John  W.  Geary  landed  at  San  Fran- 
cisco on  the  1st  of  April,  1849,  and 
left  California  on  the  1st  of  February, 
1852.  In  less  than  three  years  he 
had  achieved  more  than  most  men 
achieve  in  a  lifetime  of  threescore 
and  ten. 

In  tne  mean  time  the  Kansas- Ne- 
braska agitation  had  disturbed  the 
peace  of  the  country,  and  actual  hos- 
tilities had  occurred  in  the  Territory 
of  Kansas.  Governors  Reeder  and 
Shannon  had  failed  to  settle  the  diffi- 
culties. In  July,  1856,  Col.  Geary 
was  appointed,  by  President  Pierce, 
Governor  of  that  Territory,  and  the 
appointment  was  confirmed  by  the 
Senate  without  the  usual  reference 
to  a  committee.  As  the  Governor 
ascended  the  Missouri  River,  he  met 
ex-Governor  Shannon  on  his  way 
down  the  river,  flying  for  his  life. 
The  town  of  Leavenworth  was  in  the 
hands  of  armed  bodies  of  men,  and 
an  army  of  three  thousand  men  as- 
sembled to  destroy  the  free  State 
town  of  Lawrence.  Governor  Geary 
rode  into  their  camp  unattended,  as- 
sumed command  of  their  forces,  and 
addressing  to  them  some  earnest 
words  of  patriotic  and  loyal  counsel, 
he  disbanded  and  sent  them  to  their 
homes.  When  he  approached  their 
lines,  he  did  not  know  whether  they 
would  shoot  him  or  acknowledge  his 
authority.  It  was  an  extremely  criti- 
cal case,  and  required  great  nerve 


13 


GEARY. 

and  presence  of  mind.     But  he  was 
eqnal  to  the  situation. 

In  his  public  address  at  Lecompton, 
and  in  his  first  Annual  Message  to  the 
Territorial  Assembly,  the  Governor 
took  his  stand:  "Equal  and  exact 
justice  to  all  men,  of  whatever  political 
party  or  religious  persuasion."  All 
the  elements  of  violence  and  disorder 
combined  against  him  ;  and  yet,  in  a 
short  time,  owing  to  his  vigorous  and 
skilful  measures,  he  was  enabled  to 
make  the  following  announcement : 
"  Peace  now  reigns  in  Kansas  ;  con- 
fidence is  gradually  being  restored  ; 
settlers  are  returning  to  their  claims; 
citizens  are  resuming  their  ordinary 
pursuits,  and  a  general  gladness  per- 
vades the  community." 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1857,  the 
day  of  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Bu- 
chanan, he  forwarded  his  resignation. 
But  in  this  short  space  of  time  he 
had  withstood  border  ruffianism,  sup- 
pressed all  organized  violence,  and 
restored  the  supremacy  of  the  Federal 
and  Territorial  laws. 

Kansas  came  out  of  her  baptism  of 
blood  and  fire  a  free  State;  and  to 
no  man  was  this  result  more  due,  in 
her  case,  as  in  that  of  California,  than 
to  John  W.  Geary. 

Governor  Geary  was  at  his  rural 
home  in  Westmoreland  County  when 
the  thunders  of  armed  treason  first 
broke  upon  the  ear  ^  the  nation. 
In  the  summer  of  186i  he  proceeded 
to  Philadelphia  to  raise  a  regiment; 
sixty-six  companies  solicited  permis- 
sion to  join  his  command.  He  was 
authorized  to  raise  his  regiment  to 
the  standard  of  sixteen  companies,  with 
one  battery  of  six  guns,  known  after- 
wards as " Knapp's  Battery."  Colonel 


CLYMER. 


.. 


The  Legislative  Record  of  this  pe- 
riod will  be  searched  in  vain  for  any 
evidence  that  Mr.  Clymer  was  iden- 
tified with  any  measures  of  great  or 
public  importance.  It  shows  him 
only  as  taking  part  in  ordinary  or 
local  legislation,  except  when  it  be- 
came necessary  to  speak  or  vote  on 
the  great  questions  involved  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  national  authority 
against  the  revolutionary  attempts  of 
the  seceding  States.  On  all  such 


u 


GEARY. 

Geary  at  once  received  orders  to  pro- 
ceed to  Harper's  Ferry,  to  report  to 
General  Banks,  then  in  command. 
He  was  assigned  to  command  of 
Maryland  Heights.  On  the  16th  of 
October,  1861,  he  fought  the  Battle 
of  Bolivar,  with  one  thousand  men 
and  four  guns,  against  an  assailing 
force  of  five  thousand  men  and  six 
guns.  He  severely  repulsed  the  ene- 
my, after  an  engagement  of  eight 
hours.  In  this  engagement  he  was 
wounded  in  the  right  knee. 


In  the  movement  made  by  General 
Banks  in  the  spring  of  1862  Colonel 
Geary  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  advance.  On  the  8th  of  March 
he  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
battle  which  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  Leesburg.  He  led  the  van  of  the 
Union  column  in  the  subsequent  ope- 
rations, by  which  the  rebel  forces 
were  obliged  to  evacuate  all  the  towns 
north  of  the  Rappahannock,  and 
were  dislodged  from  their  strongholds 
at  Snicker's,  Ashby's,  Manassas,  and 
Chester  Gaps,  in  the  range  of  the 
Blue  Mountains.  For  the  services 
rendered  in  this  campaign  he  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier- 
General. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1862,  in  the 
obstinately  fought  Battle  of  Cedar 
Mountain,  between  the  forces  under 
Banks  and  Stonewall  Jackson,  Gene- 
ral Geary  was  wounded  slightly  in 
the  left  foot  and  severely  in  the  right 


CLYMER. 

questions  he  was  invariably  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  rebellion.  But  let 
the  Record  speak  for  him. 

On  the  12th  day  of  April,  1861, 
the  day  of  the  rebel  assault  upon 
Fort  Sumter,  he  opposed  and  voted 
against  the  bill  for  arming  the  State. 
— See  Legislative  Record  for  1861, 
pages  843-5,  &c. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  after 
the  news  of  the  fall  of  Sumter  had 
been  received,  and  the  Northern  heart 
had  been  fired  by  this  insult  to  the 
national  flag,  Mr.  Clymer,  with  his 
five  disloyal  colleagues,  entered  on 
the  Journal  of  the  Senate  their  sol- 
emn protest  against  the  passage  of 
the  bill  for  arming  the  State. — See 
Legislative  Record  for  1861,  pages 
902-3. 

In  the  session  of  1862,  during  the 
dark  days  of  the  Republic,  and  when 
reverses  had  overtaken  her  armies, 
Mr.  Clymer  voted  against  sustaining 
them  in  the  field,  by  voting  against 
the  joint  resolutions  of  the  Legisla- 
ture to  provide  for  the  collection  of 
the  cfirect  tax  levied  by  the  United 

States See  Legislative  Record  for 

1862,  pages  154-5. 


15 


GEARY. 

arm,  and  was  carried  from  the  field, 
at  the  close  of  the  day. 

Shortly  after  the  Battle  of  Antietam 
the  Twelfth  Corps  was  assigned  to 
General  Slocum,  and  Geary  was  pro- 
moted to  the  command  of  its  Second 
Division. 

On  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  of  May, 
1863,  General  Hooker,  having  crossed 
the  Rappahannock,  gave  Lee  battle 
at  Chancellorsville.  In  this  bloody 
and  memorable  engagement,  the  12th 
Corps  maintained  a  conspicuous  part, 
and  General  Geary,  at  the  head  of 
the  2d  Division,  was  distinguished 
for  his  coolness  and  courage.  In 
this  battle  he  was  seriously  wounded 
in  the  left  breast  by  the  fragment  of 
a  shell. 

It  was  at  Chancellorsville  that  his 
command  was  first  designated  as  the 
"  White  Star"  Division,  by  which  it 
was  known  until  its  honorable  dis- 
charge at  the  end  of  the  war. 

In  the  next  battle,  fought  on  Penn- 
sylvania soil,  at  Gettysburg,  on  the 
2d  and  3d  of  July,  1863,  Geary  bore 
a  conspicuous  part.  Meade  and 
Reynolds,  Hancock,  Crawford,  and 
Geary,  noble  sons  of  Pennsylvania, 
divided  the  responsibilities  and  shared 
the  dangers  and  glorious  results  of 
that  dreadful  contest. 

After  Gettysburg  came  Chicka- 
mauga.  The  important  results  of  the 
latter  made  it  necessary  to  reinforce 
the  Array  of  the  Cumberland.  The 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps  were 
ordered  to  join  the  Army  of  the 
Southwest.  Geary  followed  the  for- 
tunes of  the  Twelfth  Corps,  and  con- 
tinued at  the  head  of  his  old  Division. 
Grant  had  now  assumed  chief  com- 


CLYMER. 


.On  the  9th  and  10th  of  April,  1863, 
on  the  consideration  and  final  pas- 
sage of  the  bill  to  authorize  those  in 
the  military  and  naval  service  of  the 
United  States  to  vote,  he  voted  with 
his  Democratic  colleagues  against 
every  section. — Same,  page  808. 

In  the  session  of  1864,  on  the  9th 
of  March,  upon  the  joint-resolutions 
proposing  an  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution authorizing  the  soldiers  to 
vote,  Mr.  Clymer  being  present 
dodged;  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day,  having  asked  leave  to  re- 
cord his  vote,  the  Senate  refused. — 
See  Legislative  Record,  1864,  335- 
341. 

And  later  in  the  session,  when  a 
bill  was  introduced  to  carry  this 
amendment  into  effect,  Mr.  Clymer 
not  only  spoke  against  it,  but  with 
his  twelve  Democratic  colleagues 
voted  against  it. — See  Legislative 
Record,  1864,  page  509. 


During  the  session  of  1863  Mr. 
Clymer  voted  against  joint-resolu- 
tions in  favor  of  a  law  to  define  and 
punish  treasonable  offences. — Legis- 
lative Record,  1863,  page  204-8. 

During  same  session  he  voted 
against  the  bill  to  legalize  the  pay- 
ment of  bounties  to  Volunteers.  This 
was  on  the  eve  of  the  invasion  of  the 
State,  and  but  three  months  before 


16 


I     GEARY. 

mand.  Tn  pursuance  of  his  plan,  the 
battle  of  Wauhatchie  was  fought 
October  28,  1863;  of  Lookout  Moun- 
tain, November  24 ;  of  Mission 
Ridge,  November  25;  and  Ringgold, 
November  27.  Geary's  was  the  only 
division  of  his  corps  that  participated 
in  these  battles  of  the  "  Chattanooga 
Campaign,"  and  his  name  will  ever 
be  proudly  associated  with  its  brilliant 
victories. 

His  division  fought  the  battle  of 
Wauhatchie  alone.  Of  this  battle 
General  Hooker  says  :  "  During  these, 
operations  a  heavy  musketry  fire,  with 
occasional  discharges  of  artill  ery,  con- 
tinued to  reach  us  from  Geary.  It 
was  evident  a  formidable  adversary 
had  gathered  round  him,  and  that  he 
was  battering  him  with  all  his  might. 
For  almost  three  hours,  without  as- 
sistance, he  repelled  the  repeated  at- 
tacks of  vastly  superior  numbers,  and 
in  the  end  drove  them  ingloriously 
from  the  field.  At  one  time  they  had 
enveloped  him  on  both  sides,  under 
circumstances  that  would  have  dis- 
mayed any  officer,  except  one  en- 
dowed with  an  iron  will  and  a  most 
exalted  courage.  Such  is  the  charac- 
ter of  General  Geary." 

General  Slocum  also  awarded  him 
the  highest  credit.  But  on  this 
bloody  field  General  Geary  lost  his 
eldest  son,  Capt.  Edward  R.  Geary, 
who  commanded  a  section  of  Knapp's 
celebrated  battery.  He  fell  pierced 
through  the  forehead,  while  bravely 
maintaining  his  position  against  su- 
perior numbers. 

In  the  spring  of  1864,  the  Army 
of  the  Southwest  was  reorganized. 
Grant  having  been  invested  with  the 
rank  of  Lieutenant-General  and  Com- 


CLYMER. 

the  battle  of  Gettysburg. — Legisla- 
tive Record  for  1863,  pages  809-11. 


On  the  6th  of  March,  1863,  Mr. 
Clymer  opposed  giving  Andrew  John- 
son, then  Governor  of  Tennessee,  the 
privilege  of  speaking  at  the  Capitol 
of  Pennsylvania  on  behalf  of  the  loyal 
men  of  the  South.  He  denounced 
him  as  a  usurper,  charged  him  with 
"  upturning  every  principle  on  which 
this  government  is  founded;"  with 
having  "  bent  the  suppliant  knee  before 
the  throne  of  power ;"  and  that,  "for 
pelf  or  some  other  consideration,"  he 
had  yielded  to  the  measures  of  the 
government.  He  further  spoke  of 
him  "  as  a  mere  hireling  of  Federal 
patronage  and  power." — Legislative 
Record  of  1863,  pages  376-7. 


On  the  21st  of  April,  1863,  he  ad- 
dressed a  public  meeting  called  under 
his  auspices,  and  held  at  the  Court- 
House  in  Reading,  Berks  County.. 


GEARY. 

mander-in-chief,  Sherman  assumed 
command  of  all  the  forces  designated 
to  operate  in  the  Southwestern  and 
extreme  Southern  States.  By  direc- 
tion of  that  great  Captain  important 
changes  were  effected  in  the  organi- 
zation of  this  army.  The  llth  and 
12th  Corps  were  consolidated  into  the 
20th,  under  Hooker.  Geary  contin- 
ued in  command  of  his  old  division, 
with  the  addition  of  one  brigade  from 
the  llth  Corps.  Sherman's  Army, 
complete  in  equipment,  and  about 
90,000  strong,  commenced  its  great 
campaign  on  the  4th  of  May,  1864. 
The  events  which  followed  can  scarce- 
ly be  named  here.  Geary  was  in  all 
of  them,  at  the  head  of  his  division, 
to  which  he  was  endeared  by  long 
companionship  in  perils,  hardships, 
and  sufferings.  He  participated  in 
the  battles  of  Mill  Creek  and  Snake 
Gap,  May  8th ;  Resaca,  May  15th  ; 
New  Hope  Church,  commencing  May 
26th  and  continuing  eight  consecutive 
days;  Pine  Hill,  June  15th;  Muddy 
Creek,  June  17th;  Nose's  Creek, 
June  19th ;  Kolb's  Farm,  June  22d  ; 
Kenesaw,  June  27th  ;  Marietta,  July 
3d;  Peach  Tree  Creek,  July  20th; 
and  the  siege  of  Atlanta,  lasting 
twenty-eight  days,  and  ending  in  the 
capture  of  the  city  on  the  2d  of  Sep- 
tember. To  use  his  own  language  : 
"The  campaign,  from  its  opening  till 
"the  fall  of  Atlanta,  was  really  a 
"  one  hundred  days'  fight,  and  may  be 
"  termed  a  continuous  battle,  crowned 
"with  constant  victory." 

General  Sherman  having  consigned 
Hood  to  the  care  of  Thomas,  with 
one-half  of  his  grand  army,  on  16th 
November,  1864,  cut  loose  from  his 
communications  at  Atlanta,  and  start- 


CLYMER. 

Among  other  violent  and  inflamma- 
tory language  against  the  General 
Government,  he  advocated  the  reso- 
lutions that  "  resistance  by  force  to 
an  invasion  of  our  personal  freedom 
is  a  virtue,"  and  that  "we  do  not  ap- 
prove of  this  war  as  at  present  con- 
ducted. WE  NEVER  DID  APPROVE  OF 
IT  IN  ITSELF." 


On  the  24th  of  August,  1863,  in 
his  Somerset  speech,  Mr.  Clymer  de- 
clared that  if  Woodward  and  Val- 
landigham  were  elected  Governors  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  they,  with 
Seymour  of  New  York,  and  Parker, 
of  New  Jersey,  would  unite  in  recall- 
ing from  the  army  the  troops  of  their 
respective  States,  and  thus  compelihQ 
Administration  to  call  a  convention 
of  States  to  make  terms  with  traitors. 

On  the  3d  of  Feb'y,  1864,  when 
Mr.  Clymer  was  charged  with  having 
uttered  such  a  sentiment,  he  failed 
to  justify  himself,  and  went  so  far  as 
to  declare  that  the  United  States 
then  ^presented  a  mournful  spectacle 
amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth." 


18 


GEARY. 

ed  on  liis  famous  march  for  the  At- 
lantic coast.  He  took  Geary  with 
him  :  the  latter,  at  the  head  of  bis  old 
division,  took  part  in  all  the  move- 
ments, marches,  and  battles  of  that 
campaign  ;  and  finally,  having  led  in 
the  advance  upon  Savannah,  he  re- 
ceived the  surrender  of  that  city,  and 
was  appointed  its  Military  Governor 
by  General  Sherman,  in  consideration 
of  his  services  in  its  siege  and  cap- 
tare. 

While  in  command  of  the  city  as 
Military  Governor,  he  was,  in  recog- 
nition of  his  services  throughout  the 
war,  breveted  Major-General  of  Vol- 
unteers. 

His  commission  as  Major-General 
was  dated  January  12th,  1865,  and 
the  reason  assigned  in  it  for  his  pro- 
motion was  "fitness  to  command,  and 
promptness  to  execute." 

During  the  campaign  in  the  Caro- 
linas  which  followed  the  capture  of 
Savannah,  Geary's  division  fought  on 
the  Apalache  and  Oconee  rivers  ;  at 
Landsboro7  and  Davisboro';  at  Sulka- 
hatchie,  and  North  and  South  Edisto; 
at  Red  Bank  and  Congaree;  at  Black 
River  and  Bentonville. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Goldsboro'  and 
Raleigh,  the  gigantic  struggle  that 
saved  the  republic  and  gave  hope  to 
the  world  was  brought  to  a  close. 
The  "  White  Star"  division  with  its 
old  commander  witnessed  the  surren- 
der of  Johnson  ;  and  after  partici- 
pating in  the  grand  review  at  Wash- 
ington, were  disbanded  and  returned 
to  their  homes. 

This  valiant  and  faithful  soldier 
was  present  at  and  participated  in 
sixty  battles,  and  was  wounded  four 
times ;  he  made  nearly  the  entire 


CLYMER. 


Mr.  Clymer  was  afterward  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Chicago  platform,  which 
declared  "that  after  four  years  of 
11  failure  to  restore  the  Union  by  the 


19 


GEARY. 

circuit  of  the  rebel  confederacy,  and 
fought  its  authors  and  defenders 
in  nearly  every  State  that  acknow- 
ledged their  usurped  authority.  The 
regiment  which  he  recruited  in  the 
beginning-,  the  28th  Pennsylvania, 
continued  with  him  to  the  end  of  the 
war.  The  brigade  he  commanded 
was  the  first  in  the  whole  army  to  re- 
enlist  as  veterans.  The  division  he 
led  in  so  many  battles  was  never,  in 
a  single  instance,  either  repulsed 
or  driven  by  the  enemy.  Its  unyield- 
ing front  on  the  day  of  battle  will 
account  for  its  losses.  During  its 
campaigns  in  the  South  and  South- 
west its  casualties  were  about  twenty- 
nine  hundred ;  and  from  the  time  he 
assumed  command  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  the  casualties  were  not  less 
than  ten  thousand.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  no  regiment,  after  being  trans- 
ferred to  his  brigade  or  division,  ever 
left  his  command  until  it  was  duly 
mustered  out  of  service. 

Tried  in  almost  all  departments  of 
the  public  service,  he  has  proved  him- 
self equal  to  the  exigencies  of  his 
position  ;  and  from  the  most  difficult 
and  adverse  circumstances,  his  rare 
ability,  prudence,  and  firmness  have 
enabled  him  to  achieve  success  and 
honorable  distinction. 


CLYMER. 

"experiment  of  war,"  "immediate 
"  efforts  should  be  made  for  the  ces- 
"  sation  of  hostilities." 

And  his  whole  public  career,  and 
all  his  official  acts  and  private  de- 
clarations have  uniformly  been  con- 
sistent with  the  above  record.  He 
might  do  to  rule  over  South  Carolina 
or  Virginia,  but  never  over  the  loyal 
men  of  Pennsylvania. 


20 


Official  Returns  of  Election  on  Constitutional  Amendment 
allowing  Soldiers  the  Right  to  Vote. 

(Copied  from  Legislative  Documents  for  1864,  page  1566.) 
Election  held  August,  1864. 


Counties. 

For 
Amendment. 

Against 
Amendment. 

Counties.               Amendment. 

Against 
Amendment. 

Adams,' 

2,080 

1,491 

Lancaster, 

10,537 

1,604 

Allegheny, 

9,863 

896 

Lawrence, 

2,288 

146 

Armstrong, 

2,466 

1,676 

Lebanon, 

2,492 

686 

Beaver, 

2,380 

365 

Lehigh, 

2,614 

3,637 

Bedford, 

1,922 

1,696 

Luzerne, 

4,575 

4,024 

Berks, 

5,016 

6,947 

Lycoming, 

2,714 

2,473 

Blair, 

2,505 

223 

McKean, 

570 

183 

Bradford, 

4,970 

229 

Mercer, 

3,212 

2,012 

Bucks, 

4,897 

4,042 

Mifflin, 

1,304 

576 

Butler, 

2,679 

1,237 

Momoe, 

458 

1,644 

Cambria, 

1,620 

2,143 

Montgomery, 

4,938 

4,743 

Carbon, 

1,097 

592 

Montour, 

865 

710 

Centre, 

2,228 

2,319 

Northampton, 

2,476 

3,174 

Chester, 

6,415 

1,483 

Northumberland 

,    2,346 

2,177 

Clarion, 

1,613 

734 

Perry, 

2,046 

902 

Clearfield, 

1,298 

2,083 

Philadelphia, 

27,268 

9,905 

Clinton, 

1,300 

1,377 

Pike, 

167 

841 

Columbia, 

1,533 

2,553 

Potter, 

1,025 

87 

Crawford, 

4,502 

932 

Schuylkill, 

5,923 

3,058 

Cumberland, 

2,927 

1,588 

Snyder, 

1,463 

870 

Cameron, 

225 

73 

Somerset, 

2,390 

902 

Dauphin, 

3,711 

1,861 

Sullivan, 

316 

381 

Delaware, 

2,361 

157 

Susquehanna, 

3,251 

422 

Elk, 

260 

382 

Tioga, 

3,297 

170 

Erie, 

5,029 

1,083 

Union, 

1,524 

484 

Fayette, 

2,603 

2,503 

Venango, 

2,530 

821 

Forest, 

77 

16 

Warren, 

1,851 

212 

Franklin, 

2,513 

721 

Washington, 

4,031 

2,238 

Fulton, 

493 

645 

Wayne, 

1,444 

2,221 

Greene, 

1,862 

608 

Westmoreland, 

3,738 

3,383 

Huntingdon, 

2,505 

360 

Wyoming, 

1,181 

710 

Indiana, 

3,292 

689 

York, 

4,265 

3,884 

Jefferson, 

1,497 

1,220 





Juniata, 

1,008 

1,088 

199,855 

105,352 

